The Ceres City Council decided Monday evening that it won’t accommodate the property owners who have put up carports in violation of city ordinance.

Last year the city Code Enforcement team issued citations for residents who illegally putting up carports but the council initially signaled it might relax city code so they could keep their structures. In November Councilman Daniel Martinez suggested city staff to review the ordinance “and see how we can amend it to be more modern and help support the citizens that it’s affecting at the current time.” He also hinted at forming a council subcommittee to delve into changing the rules.

But on Monday all councilmembers backed away from the idea of any modifications.

Community Development Director Lea Simvoulakis spent time explaining that the city does not have a specific carport ordinance but that there are development standards for buildings and structures relating to front, side, corner side, and rear setbacks. She specifically stated that the residential front setback line is a minimum of 20 feet for the main structure, and 35 feet for a detached accessory structure. City code also states that no accessory structure shall be located within the front yard or exterior side yard area (corner side) of a single-family lot.

Setbacks, she added, are used to maintain consistent street frontage, to provide adequate spacing between buildings, to ensure sufficient natural light and air circulation between structures, minimize fire spread risk and “generally promote a cohesive looking neighborhood and aesthetics.”

Some of the carports the city has found in violation are located within utility easements and some obstuct the line of sight for neighbors.

Councilwoman Cerina Otero was the first to voice opposition to changes.

“I feel it’s important for us to protect our neighborhood appearance,” said Otero. “The ordinances are there to help keep neighborhoods looking consistent and staying maintained.”

She said the city should prioritize fairness and safety.

“I know that some of these structures may cause (visual) obstruction, either with kids riding bikes or someone trying to pull out of their driveway or just driving down the street.”

Otero commented that most residents want to see more code enforcement and residents who are cited should understand that officers are doing their job to do to keep Ceres looking clean.

Vice Mayor Daniel Martinez said some carport owners are violating other city ordinances, such as cementing over their entire front yard or storing garbage cans and jet skis and other items underneath carports.

“At first I was open to listening to an idea of maybe changing this or revisiting it but at this point I don’t feel like the extra stress on staff would be necessary,” said Martinez. “I feel like it’s good how it is. My only question would be how do we enforce it moving forward? We’ve got limited resources in code enforcement.”

He suggested the city work with owners to find ways to remove their structures.

Councilwoman Rosalinda Vierra echoed their sentiments, saying public safety and neighborhood cohesiveness need to be maintained.

Councilman James Casey said it’s unfortunate that the city allowed things to “get out of hand” with less stringent code enforcement in past years but also noted some property owners put up carports even after the city told them no.

“It’s a sad thing that these people have invested money,” Casey said. “Where do you draw the line? Well, you draw the line with regulations we have.”

Resident Valerie Chavez phoned into the meeting and urged the city not to relax standards which would detract from overall aesthetics of the city. 

Otero said she would like to see staff develop a timeline to give residents time to remove their carports.